Disaster Displacement Assistance Improvement Act of 2025
This bill, titled the Disaster Displacement Assistance Improvement Act of 2025, would clarify how disaster housing aid is evaluated under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. Specifically, it prohibits the President from treating an insurance payout as a duplication of benefits when determining eligibility for displacement assistance under Section 408. In other words, if a disaster survivor has insurance, that insurance cannot automatically disqualify them from receiving temporary housing help (such as hotel stays, staying with family or friends, or other housing options) funded under this program. The bill defines displacement assistance to include those temporary housing options and notes that this determination relates to the broader duplication-of-benefits rules in Section 312 of the Act. Introduced in the 119th Congress (February 26, 2025) by Rep. Brownley and co-sponsors, the bill would amend existing law to ensure insurance does not block access to displacement housing aid after a disaster.
Key Points
- 1Prohibits considering insurance as a duplication of benefits for displacement assistance eligibility under Section 408.
- 2Clarifies that the duplication-of-benefits review for displacement assistance should not count insurance when applying Section 312.
- 3Defines displacement assistance as temporary housing-related aid (staying in hotels/motels, staying with family or friends, or other available housing options).
- 4Amends Section 408 of the Stafford Act by adding a new subsection (k) to codify this rule.
- 5The bill is an amendment to existing disaster relief law and does not, on its face, create new funding sources; it changes eligibility determinations and administrative interpretation.